Yahoo’s new browser AXIS

Late last night Yahoo unveiled their new ‘browser,’ Axis. Axis comes in two different flavors. Its primary target is the iOS app. On the iPhone and iPad Axis is part search tool, part browser. A search will start to load options and images as you type them in. This, especially being its primary feature, is a bit disappointing on the iPhone as the device is attempting to load images and pages as you try to type, as expected, is a bit sluggish and with the small screen there is a lot going on. This is not an issue, however, on the iPad, as there is much more screen restate for typing and loading images, as well being more powerful than the iPhone makes the app run much much smoother. The big question is, is this app really needed. Sure, its handy having quick, easy to access images and YouTube links but does it really save that much time? For the PC Yahoo has decided to simply make Axis a browser add-on. Available for Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Explorer 9 Axis is really not much more than a glorified toolbar, slowing your browser down. The real feature of the PC version is if you log into your Yahoo ID with the tool bar and your iOS app your search history and results from one device are accessible on the other device. First day out of the gate Axis shows potential but simply doesn’t offer enough to justify adding another step to your iOS browsing, or slowing down your desktop browsing.